A F T E R D A R K | PAUL LAHOTE - 1

15

"—Sophia?"

I turned quickly to the source in which the familiar voice came from. I had to be imagining it, the lack of sleep had to be catching up on me because there was just no way..

My eyes widened in both surprise and shock, "Paul?"

So maybe there was a way..

"This is Paul?" I heard my mom say from beside me but my attention was Paul's only. He was actually standing down the corridor in shorts and a jumper, an expression much similar to mine.

Seeing his face caused everything in the past two days to come screaming back. The memories of Bella in the studio, the bite, James, the glass. It was all there again and my bottom lip trembled as I ran to him.

I hadn't realised how much I needed Paul until I saw him standing there.

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and buried my head into his neck. His hand went into my hair while his other wrapped around my waist. He held me tight and close and I couldn't be more thankful, "Do you have any idea how close I've been to losing my mind?" Paul asked into my ear.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered, "I tried to call you but my phone—"

"It's okay." He cut me off, pulling away and cupping my cheeks, "All that matters is that you're okay."

I inhaled deeply, "Barely."

"What happened?"

"Ahem." The soft coughing sound emitted behind me and it came from my mother. I pressed my lips together in despair and turned to face her.

"Mom?"

I could see the excitement in her eyes. She was really trying hard to contain herself, "Is this Paul?"

I nodded my head, "Yes mom, this is Paul."

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Swan."

"Oh please, it's Dwyer." She replied to Paul, correcting him politely on her surname before her smile widened even further, "But I'm glad Sophia's found someone good for her."

I groaned, "Mom, aren't you supposed to be finding a nurse?" I asked her with wide-ish eyes, "For Bella?"

"Oh yes, yes." She remembered quickly, "I'll leave you two, you know where Bels room is don't you?"

I nodded and watched my mom run off and rested my head against Paul's hard chest. 

"Your mom is—"

I shook my head, "—Don't."

He laughed lightly and I felt the vibrations from the wonderful sound. He brought my head up to meet his gaze again, "What happened?"

I looked around myself and shook my head, "Not here, we should go to the cafeteria."

* * *

Once Paul and I were settled opposite each other and I had a cup of coffee in front of me I sighed and rubbed my eyes, "After you left, Bella came back home claiming she had broken up with Edward, she started packing her bags to go home."

"Home as in here in Phoenix?" He asked me.

I nodded, "She gave us barely any explanation, just took off in the truck. I knew Edward had something to do with whatever had gone on so I went over there—"

"—You went to their house?" Paul asked me with a hard expression.

I took his hand and threaded my fingers through them comfortingly, "I wanted to know why Bella left like that Paul, I wanted answers."